Chapter 64: Contract Summoned Beasts
The next morning, at dawn.
As Janna's consciousness awakened from deep meditation, her once-exhausted spirit had returned to its peak overnight.
“Good thing yesterday’s Introductory Herbology class was canceled, or else I would’ve had to spend academic credits borrowing notes from someone…”
She gathered her long hair behind her, and after a quick wash, Janna took out the compressed biscuits she had bought the day before from the pocket of her wizard robe.
She then brewed a cup of black coffee—breakfast complete.
“This time’s share of battle spoils included a total of eleven Source Energy Fragments. That’s a lot more than I expected.”
Source Energy Fragments, condensed from the energy essence of other dimensional planes, were not only rich in highly concentrated energy, but also contained law imprints from the native plane.
Whether for a low-level Wizard Apprentice like Janna or a high-level one like Richard Eva, Source Energy Fragments were extremely precious advancement resources.
“It’s just a pity that the laws of the Mirror Layer Domain are mainly focused on Confusion, Imitation, Reflection, and Concealment, which don’t align with my wizard talents or advancement path… If the fragments held laws related to Spirit Realm Communication, Contracts, Nature, or Life, I could’ve tried comprehending them ahead of time…”
Thinking of this, Janna shook her head, brushing away such unrealistic thoughts.
Let alone the fact that laws like Spirit Realm Communication and Contracts were incredibly rare and difficult to grasp, even those associated with Nature and Life were top-tier across the entire wizarding world.
And for someone like Janna, who at that point didn’t even have access to the most basic channels, such top-tier resources were nothing more than unattainable dreams.
Not just her—even in secondary or even primary wizarding settlements, laws linked to Nature and Life were only accessible to a select few.
Comparable laws included Sky, Ocean, Death, Sun, and Moon—all considered elite wizard laws.
“Though not suitable for comprehending laws, as experience packs, these Source Energy Fragments are enough to sustain me through to the level of a Second Tier Wizard Apprentice. In fact, once I later use a Mirror Coordinate to contract a creature from the same plane, these same-source fragments can be used as advancement resources for that contract creature.”
As a summoning-path apprentice of the mystical arcane, only by continuously strengthening her contracted summoned beasts could Janna reap greater soul feedback.
Over time, as her soul power increased, she would be able to contract even more summoned creatures.
A one-woman army, unstoppable in her path.
With powerful group combat capabilities, Janna could even challenge those above her rank.
Just like the headmaster of White Coral Academy—an immensely powerful necromantic summoner who could single-handedly repel an invasion of enemies from the shadow underworld. What made it possible was his terrifying undead army that struck fear into all opponents.
“Tick—tock—tick—tock—”
Glancing at the clock on the wall, which pointed to exactly seven o’clock, Janna took a deep breath and picked up one of the Source Energy Fragments scattered on her lab table, placing it in the center of her palm.
“Other than an afternoon Basic Spellcasting class, I have no other lessons scheduled today… Perfect, I can use this morning to test the effects of this Source Energy Fragment.”
Whoosh—
Exhaling again, she popped the last piece of compressed biscuit into her mouth and downed a large gulp of black coffee. Janna was fully prepared.
“Exhale—in—exhale—in—”
Sitting cross-legged once more on her bed with the fragment in hand, Janna closed her eyes, regulating her breathing, and brought her mental state to its fullest.
After a moment, as her consciousness entered shallow meditation, a green glow abruptly emerged from her palm.
Like a green plant absorbing nutrients, it slowly extracted the energy from the Source Energy Fragment and infused it into her mana circuits.
“This won’t do—the energy here is far more potent than I expected… With just my current mana circuits, I can’t absorb this much energy all at once. Forcing it would only result in waste…”
Unlike the low-grade magic stones, the Source Energy Fragment in Janna’s hand was a high-tier item that could even tempt third-level apprentices.
However, limited by her current low wizard level and unstable internal ecology, the retention rate of the energy she could absorb was extremely low.
As a result, the excess energy dissipated into the air—an unfortunate and painful waste.
Frowning slightly as she looked at the fragment glowing faintly in her hand, Janna thought for a moment before relaxing her expression.
“I was planning to feed them some elemental essences later, but it looks like it’s time for something stronger.”
Having made up her mind, Janna quickly formed a casting gesture and chanted:
“I command you by my will—Summon: Celestial Finch.”
“I command you by my will—Summon: Thornflower Sprite.”
Buzz—
Green and white lights intertwined, and with the flash of two Contract Arrays, the Celestial Finch and Thornflower Sprite appeared before Janna.
“You called for me, Master?”
“Hiss hiss—”
Looking around the familiar dormitory and confirming there was no danger, the Celestial Finch flew to Janna’s shoulder, tilting its head curiously at her.
Meanwhile, the Thornflower Sprite wasn’t thinking much at all.
It just bounced cheerfully over to Janna, affectionately brushing her arm with two flowery tendrils.
“Mhm. I called you both here for a good reason, no need to be nervous.”
With that, Janna opened her palm to show her two loyal contract summoned beasts the Source Energy Fragment.
“You should both be familiar with this. How much you can absorb later will depend entirely on your own abilities.”
“A Source Energy Fragment… Master, do you mean—”
The Celestial Finch had accompanied Janna through the entire expedition to the Mirror Layer Domain. It had even personally purified these fragments.
Feeling the intense energy within, and recalling Janna’s words, the Celestial Finch—being a low-tier light-element spirit that had never once had access to such a high-level resource—started stammering in excitement.
“This interdimensional expedition, both of you were a tremendous help to me. So, as a reward, the energy from this Source Energy Fragment will be shared among the three of us. Not a single bit should go to waste.”
“Yes! Thank you for your generosity, Master! Aph will definitely not waste even a bit!”
“Hiss hiss—”
With far less intelligence and comprehension than the Celestial Finch, the Thornflower Sprite only tilted its head.
Seeing its companion so overjoyed, it couldn’t help but let out an excited hiss of its own...